Doc Ernie's Blog : Doc Ernie's Blog : Ernie Franz M.D. : Spinal Cord Injury, Disability, and Rehabilitation

This section is really intended for those with spinal cord injuries.  "Constitutional truths" in this case has absolutely nothing to do with what our forefathers generated over 200 years ago, nor anything pertaining to our countries politically misguided adventures or upcoming election.

Instead it speaks to catheters, suppositories, and how to best avoid UTI's.  These are a part of routine life those of us with SCI deal with, and others perhaps are inquisitive about.  The content that follows is really meant for those who have some dysfunction in elimination processes in hopes you may find a helpful hint or two.

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I ended up with enough entries in my first write, so decided to split them into two sections of more readable snippets.  Enjoy (or at least you will see, as many have noted before, I do have a warped sense of humor)....

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In this section, hopefully you may find a few good laughs from my experiences.  As said in Proverbs - a good word brings health to the bones.  Beyond even a good word, laughter just deeply feels so right. Continue Reading...

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“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.”     Isaac Asimov

Shaking your head?  Here are my honest unvarnished impressions.  Although I nearly suffered a traumatic death, which in the ER we all have imagined as a horrible way to die, I can say from experience when you don't see it coming, and it strikes in an instant as John Donne remarked - it may not be all that bad a way to pass from this world.  Yet as a survivor of a sudden change, an alteration to worse, I have found it is the transition that is indeed most troublesome.  In my case, thankfully, it was a transition back to finding life, a life that is again (mostly) pleasant!

To follow this are quotes from all sources, on a variety of topics, presented hereafter without any additional comments...

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In the late fall of 2007 the Harborview Rehab floor hosted an Adaptive Cycling Seminar.  Through a donation made in my name, I was able to help fund the seminar.  There were recumbent four wheeled tandems, various makes of three wheeled bikes, and options of foot or hand driven mechanisms.  Although this was primarily set up for those who might be riding hand cycles, I did also bring my Moots and seized the opportunity to bicycle down the halls of Harborview.  The very halls where I had pulled myself around in a wheelchair using my feet in 2004.

Being a C5 incomplete quad, in addition to my bilateral radial nerve injuries, I do not have the arm/hand strength to either pilot a wheelchair, or a hand cycle; whether on 2, 3 or 4 wheels.  So in my particular case strangely, the only option for me is to ride an upright bicycle and pedal with my feet.

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